WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J. -- Convenience-store retailer QuickChek Corp. is exiting the pharmacy business to focus on foodservice, and it has entered into an agreement to transfer customer prescription records to CVS Pharmacy.
Whitehouse Station, N.J.-based QuickChek has 159 c-stores in New Jersey and New York’s Hudson Valley and Long Island, including 10 stores with pharmacies and 75 with fuel. The move will allow QuickChek to further concentrate on its core fresh convenience business and continue its growth in foodservice retailing and fuel, it said.
- QuickChek is No. 40 in CSP's 2018 Top 202 ranking of c-store chains by number of company-owned retail outlets.
The privately held, family-owned company will close the pharmacy departments in nine locations and remodel those stores to fit with its current new-concept c-stores, which are designed to meet the needs of today’s on-the-go, fast-casual and millennial shopper.
The retailer expects pharmacy departments to close in late November in Bayonne, Beachwood, Ewing, Fords, North Bergen, Passaic, Point Pleasant, Scotch Plains and Totowa, N.J.
Employees will direct customers to receive their pharmacy care at their local CVS Pharmacy.
QuickChek also has a store in Washington, N.J., which CVS Pharmacy will acquire at a later date and operate as a CVS Pharmacy.
QuickChek and CVS Pharmacy are working together to ensure the transition will be seamless for patients and that their access to pharmacy care is not interrupted. To facilitate this changeover, CVS Pharmacy plans to interview affected QuickChek employees so they may join the CVS Pharmacy team.
“CVS Pharmacy will continue to meet the pharmacy and healthcare needs of our customers, as well as provide career opportunities for our pharmacy team members,” said QuickChek Director of Pharmacy Mike Wunder.
“We’re looking forward to introducing CVS Pharmacy’s industry-leading products and services to QuickChek pharmacy patients and are committed to ensuring that their pharmacy needs are not only met, but exceeded,” said Emmanuel Kolady, division vice president for CVS Pharmacy. “We are focused on delivering a smooth pharmacy transition to QuickChek’s patients and are excited to be able to help them achieve their best health.”
The companies did not disclose the terms of the agreement.
In August 2017, QuickChek introduced its new store design to provide a better showcase for its fresh food and beverage menu.
Technomic, the foodservice research arm of CSP’s parent company Winsight LLC, Chicago, named QuickChek coffee best in America in a national consumer survey.
CVS Pharmacy, Woonsocket, R.I., the retail division of CVS Health, has more than 9,800 locations.
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